Improvement in gun-locks



HAY & HILL.

Nipple Guard for Fire Arms.

Patented June 8; 1869.

waited swat new (tithe.

R. D. HAY AND .1. M. HILL, OF CROOKED CREEK, NORTH CAROLINA.

Letters Patent No. 91,014, dated June 8, I869.

'mPRovnMnN-r m GUN-LOCKS.

To all whom it may concewn Be it known that we, R. D. HAY and J. M. HILL, of Crooked Creek, in the county of Stokes, and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gun-Locks; and we do hereby declare that the. following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in gunlocks, having for its object to provide a movable nipple-guard, which will prevent the hammer from falling upon the cap, in case of accidentally becoming disengaged fromits holder, by any means other than the regular action of the trigger in discharging it, and which will, by the action. of the trigger, be moved out of the way of the hammer when regularly discharged, all as hereinafter more fully specified.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a lock, constructed according to our improvement, and

Figure 2 represents a transverse section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

To provide a hollow case, or guard, A, so shaped that when closed up against the side of the lock, the cap B will project over the nipple G, into the path of the hammer D, in striking the nipple.

We hinge this guard at the side of the look at E in any suitable manner, and we make the top thereof strong enough to arrest the hammer, when, at any time, it may become accidentally disconnected from its holder, and thereby prevent accidental discharges from the gun.

To move this guard out of the way of the hammer, when it is required to discharge the gun, we arrange a lever, F, bell-crank, G, and link, H, so as to be actuated by the trigger just previous to discharging the hammer, in a manner to throw the guard out of the way of the hammer; also, to throw the guard back again after the hammer is raised.

' This lever Fds pivoted, as at I, to any convenient part of the interior of the lock,'and provided with a right-angled, or bent. projection, K, at one end, to be raised by the trigger slightly in advance of the movement of the'dog L, for releasing the hammer.

The other end is connected with one arm of the bellcrank G, arranged in a slot through the plate of the lock, and connected by its other end to thelink H, which latter is connected to thegnard.

Other means for operating the guard may be employed.

M represents a small spring, arranged to throw the guard back to the position represented in fig.-2, when the hammer is raised. 7

- By the employment of this guard the gun may be prevented from premature discharge, as already shown, and the caps may be protected from rain, also from being lost oh by catching in the clothes, or with'twigs' or branches of trees. The gun may be thereby safely carried with the hammer ready for firing.

Having thus described our invention,

We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the lock of a fire-arm, of a nipple-guard, arranged and operating substantiallyas specified.

2. The combination of the lever F, bell-crank G, and link H, and guard A, all substantially as specified.

The above specification of our invention signed by us, this 2d day of March, 1869.

R. D. HAY.

J. M. HILL.

Witnesses FRANK BLOCKLEY, ALEX. F. Ronnn'rs. 

